Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 12:46pm by JRed

In his recent article Let’s Revolutionize the Standard Recruiting Model Mark Bielecki aptly sums up the frustrations that many of us Contingency Recruiters experience on a regular basis in his very first sentence:

“THERE’S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY TO DO THIS.”

While it’s true that we have the power to select the types of companies we do business with that’s no guarantee that they will be the type of client you’ll want to continue doing business with once all is said and done.

Something strange can happen from the start of the process to the Start Date. Unfortunately, often times the end result is a complete disaster!

A complete lack of communication, untimely feedback, doing a poor job of making a positive impression with candidates during an interview, late paying clients (in some cases non-paying clients), and sometimes just plain unprofessional decision-makers can make a Recruiter think twice about continuing a career in this industry.

Sometimes despite our best efforts to form a true partnership we instead bend over backwards too much for a client and thus find ourselves taken advantage of.

Bielecki is spot on when he addresses the harsh reality that it’s insane for us to continue to give away our precious and valuable time, resources, expertise, and candidates for free without getting a single thing in return from our so-called business partners.  

How is that fair? How is a company to thrive and survive under those circumstances?

So, what are we to do in these instances?

Bielecki suggests that “it’s time to retire the contingency recruiting model and replace it with a model that reflects alignment of responsibility and control” and he’s absolutley right.

But how?

I’m not sure what the answer is at the moment, but you can be sure that we’ve already begun thinking about some possible alternatives since I’m becoming more and more convinced that the future of our industry hangs in the balance.

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 8:21am by JRed

If you haven’t seen them do yourself a favor and check them out. That includes candidates who are looking for some additional insight into the corporate culture and work environment of a particular company.

John Littlejohn (VP and GM of The Employment Guide) recently wrote the best all around description of video job ads as well as a good summary on the impact and effectiveness of this medium on the employment and recruiting industries.

He’s even posted his company’s video here and I challenge anyone to tell me they don’t have a clear idea of what the company and its employees are like after watching it.

Mission accomplished.

Personally, I liked his explanation of new ideas and terms that have sprung up solely through this medium like “EOI” (a variation of ROI) or “Expression of Interest” as well as the fact that this info serves as an additional filtering device for Recruiters.

This is precisely why other companies like CareerTV are taking off. These video job ads are the wave of the future and the future is now!

If you’re an employer looking for new and exciting ways to source talent you owe it to yourself to explore the world of video job ads.

If you’re a candidate trying to find the right company to call home you owe it to yourself to explore the many video job ads that currently exist online.

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 2:40pm by JRed

Ever since Paramount Recruiting Partners, LLC began exploring the potential benefits of joining the Web 2.0 world we’ve been simply amazed by the sheer innovation and endless possibilities that exist for the Recruiting industry.

Even So, it’s so true what Ryan Loken had to say in a recent piece published on Recruiting Trends…

“Over the past few months, I have been involved in building a brand new recruiting department. This has been an interesting project and has provided its share of opportunities. However, it has given me the opportunity to reflect on a few things. Mostly, when are recruiters supposed to recruit?”

The point that caught my attention is the mere fact that trying to understand and best utilize the many online tools that are in existence - - such as the various social networking sites - - can become a full time job in itself. 

There’s just so much to see and do and so little time in a day to do it all!

He went on to suggest that both customer and candidate feedback is the single most critical timesavers and the best indication of “what’s working” compared to “what’s not.”

That line of thinking prompted me to take a second look at a Tech Crunch article I came across today to consider its implications for Recruiting.

The article reports on a company called Gigya, which offers widget creators tools that help distribute, track and monetize widgets. Their distribution platform aims to help creators increase posting and sharing of widgets across social networks and blogs. Simply put, they have decided to push push “branded widgets” (think: widgets as advertisements).

When users install regular, non-branded widgets on their profile pages, they will sometimes be offered branded widgets as they wait for their selected widget to install. Advertisers pay a “cost per install” that ranges between $2-5 every time a user decides to install a branded widget in addition to their original selection. The CPI is justified by the number of impressions the widget receives once spread virally over the internet.

Advertisers can track the distribution of their branded widgets with the same sort of analytic tools you’d find to gauge blog traffic. They can view the number of installs and impressions (how many and where on the web), see where in the world the impressions are being made, and distinguish between original widget installations and those that have spread virally.

I may be new to the Web 2.0 world, but my limited experience in Marketing tells me that this might be where our industry will see the most growth in 2008 and beyond.

To me, it seems that the ease with which you can create a branded widget (to advertise your company and/or available positions) and publish as well as distribute them online is unparalleled.

Employers and Recruiters would be wise to give widgets some love and take a closer look at them in 2008. I know PRP will!

Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 11:12am by JRed

The big social networking story from yesterday was how the French press fell for a major Facebook prank. Specifically, how a single Facebook user managed to pull off one of the biggest pranks and how the press bought it.

In case you missed it, everything started a few weeks ago when a simple third-party Facebook application was created and promoted on the site. If you’re not familiar with Facebook, an “application” is a sort of widget or badge that you can add to your page. It connects you with others interested in the same topic and makes networking with like-minded individuals in that particular sphere of influence effortless.

This particular application was aimed at choosing - - every quarter - - a new “Facebook Worldwide President.” It was to coincide with the current U.S. Presidential race. Long story short, a 28 year-old French man became “President” after creating and running a successful campaign that earned him 9,000 votes!

The French media began to cover this news and really believed that one of their own had become the new worldwide President of Facebook without even validating the story or checking the facts, which would’ve been very easy to do especially for so-called journalists. One thing led to another and this young man was making the rounds on French TV!  What still remains unclear is whether or not this individual believed this was real or if he knew it was fake and was simply calculating how he might pull this off.

Regardless, I think this story not only perpetuates some ugly truths about recruiting and hiring, but it also has some interesting implications for the power of social networking sites as it applies to the future of recruiting.

Here’s a quick thought on each:

* Human nature is human nature. People will continue to exaggerate (i.e. lie) to get a job while those on the other side of the equation will continue to take them at their word and give them the benefit of the doubt (despite SEVERAL tools at their disposal to verify and/or contradict the information they are given. In other words, the “Most Common Hiring Mistakes” will continue to be THE SAME “Most Common Hiring Mistakes.” SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: Unless, you hire a first-class recruiting firm like Paramount Recruiting Partners, LLC to do things the right way.

* Perhaps companies will begin creating Facebook applications like this one that advertises a job opening and allows users of the site to apply. Where things get interesting is the potential for the method that candidates will use to get noticed and get the job. Why couldn’t candidates do away with the Resume and interview all together and instead create an “official program” like this guy did? Subsequently, “votes” could be replaced by “references” on the candidate’s official program campaign page.

I’m sure I could come up with a few more insightful things to say about this news item, but I need to go update my Facebook page.

(What I really mean to say is that I need to call the Frenchman and congratulate him and thank my campaign supporters for trying to get me elected to this prestigious post) 

Friday, December 14th, 2007 at 12:20pm by JRed

I’m a big proponent of Lou Adler’s tips for turning the traditional job ad into the type of marketing piece that will grab people’s attention. After all, what good is posting your ad if no one reads it or can even find it?

Fortunately, there are some other new and exciting tools you can use to make sure more people are aware of available positions with your organization. In thinking about what the future holds for our industry, there’s one area in particular that I’m definitely going to look into - - Text Messaging Job Alerts.

With so many professionals mobile these days we would be foolish not to at least explore the idea of sending Job Alerts to potential candidates in the form of a Text Message.

In my preliminary research on this subject there seems to be many different options available and when you consider the enormous time savings each option is very affordable and cost effective.

Plus, when you consider that millions of people located around the country are actively searching for jobs via the Internet at least once a week, it seems ludicrous to risk missing the chance to talk to them. How many more individuals have cell phones, but aren’t actively looking for a change - - yet?

This was precisely the thought of pioneer MobileWirelessJobs. Using a voluntary system, cell phone users can choose to receive Open House Career Announcements, Interview Requests, info on Job Networking Events and info on upcoming Career Fairs.

So why aren’t more Recruiters and Agencies/Firms using this technology to their advantage?

This cutting edge technology allows Peak Performers to view a text message that informs them of an opening and to respond instantly with word of their interest. In industries where competition can be tough, the quick response factor benefits everyone involved in the process.

Within seconds, Peak Performers can apply for an available position by simply using the keypad of their cell phones.

I can’t think of a better way to reach Sales professionals who are constantly out in the field away from their desks and computers.

Recruiters would be wise to examine this powerful tool. With demand for top talent at a peak, Recruiters thrive to give industry leaders the quickest, most efficient solution to their hiring needs.

Real-time notification of lucrative opportunities delivered succinctly and without haste into the palms of top-notch professionals accomplishes this goal.

Remember, that unlike emails that could be blocked by SPAM Filters and may not be checked for days by many busy professionals, everyone you know has their cell phone attached to their hip. It’s a part of them and a natural extension of who they are.

Still not convinced? I encourage you to spend some time here.

Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 11:42pm by JRed

What will the future hold for professional social networking sites?

Building off of yesterday’s presentation of a world in which everyone had a Career Score that allowed them access to certain companies and jobs, I wondered what it would be like if those same professionals gathered in one place to showcase their Career Scores. 

Somehwat similar to eBay, what if there was a place where professionals with “above average” Career Scores gathered to publicize their personal Career Scores with the intent of having various organizations bidding on their services? This place could be aptly called rBay allowing businesses with a unique way of recruiting the best of the best.

Candidates would only sign up for an account if they were in need of a job or seriously looking to leave their current employer. A time limit would be imposed and interested parties would have to submit their bid before the clock ran out.

The candidate would be at the mercy of the company that offered the best offer of employment and the system would be set up for them to be required to join the company that offered the most for their expertise, skills/abilities and experience.

Talk about a war for talent! Could you imagine several Fortune 500 organizations getting into a bidding war over a particular Senior Executive who’s well-known throughout industry circles?

Is it too far-fetched?

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 10:00pm by JRed

We’ve all seen those commercials. You know, the ones where the smiling, clean-cut young man asks if we know our Credit Score. That got me thinking. What if our industry created a national system that assigned a Career Score to each member of the workforce?

This number would be carried with you throughout your career and it would change based on a number of factors until you retired. In general, points could be awarded based on your education (those with Master’s degrees getting more points than those with just a High School Graduation), level of experience (those with more years of experience would get more points, but they would lose points if they were too “jumpy”), and skills (have you created, published and managed your own personal blog? great! you just earned more points then the person who only knows how to sharpen pencils).

Perhaps bonus points would be awarded to those working at Fortune 500 organizations when compared to those who work at a mom-and-pop shop. It might even become necessary to develop scoring systems that are unique to a particular type of profession. Thus, those in Sales would have different ranges of scores than those in Accounting. Of course, the general scoring ranges would be customized slightly to fit with each unique assignment and so there would always be a small variation in the scores.

Obviously, this is an underdeveloped concept (I haven’t spent nearly the amount of time I’d like to in order to think this through some more) and maybe I’ll revisit it again one day, but what I like about this idea is that if Resumes truly are becoming obsolete and we’re trying to place a greater emphasis on the interview and doing it right then this makes perfect sense!

Imagine being a Recruiter and knowing that all you have to do is look for candidates who have a Career Score in the range you desire. Imagine specializing in Sales Recruiting and knowing that all the A-List performers score in the 800-1,000 range and that the B-List professionals fall in the 500-800 range. Therefore, any candidate who comes across your desk with a score that’s less than 500 is unqualified.

Is this where we’re heading as an industry? If so, it’s clear from just my random thoughts above that there would be many issues to consider as well as many potential pitfalls.

For instance, what if the system was designed to give you the most possible points to your Career Score based on the length of time you spent with an employer? How would Recruiters ever be able to entice a candidate to leave their current position if they knew that all they had to do was remain in that role for one more year before receiving x-amount of points and being in a position where they would be able to virtually choose to work anywhere they wanted to based on their exceptional Career Score?

Well, there you have it.

Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 at 1:03pm by JRed

This series is dedicated to generating some alternatives to traditional recruiting. Today, I would like to suggest a solution that saves both time and money because that’s really what we’re all after isn’t it?

WHY NOT? RESUMES-ON-DEMAND

What if Recruiters used Recruiters? No, I’m not talking about networking for future candidates or splits. What if Recruiters used a third party to help them identify potential candidates?

I think it would be pretty cool if you could hand-pick individual Resumes at wholesale prices. Now, imagine that you could preview only qualified candidates for the position you’re looking to fill and then pay only for those candidates you wish to contact.

In a world where Job Boards are one in the same (none delivering quite the reasonable return for your investment) you can’t afford to spend hundred$ or thousand$ of dollars doing the same things over and over again, but expecting different results? What do they call that again?

I realize that this suggestion is a slight variation of existing business models. For instance, Jobster made news back in June with their Pay-For-Performance job advertising.  

A more accurate description is that it’s a Pay-Per-Good-Applicant model where you only pay a small fee if a candidate is interested and responds to your job posting. I like that idea, but I think there’s room to grow.

I disagree with Jobster’s assessment that “the problem with bringing cost per hire online though is that hiring is not a transaction that will be actually closed online. It’s not like buying a product where you pay at point of sale and then get your goods shipped.” Why not?

What if a company created a Pay-Per-Resume business model where qualified candidates matching your detailed job description were added to a shopping cart of sorts by a Search Specialist from that company? 

You could then preview each individual Resume/Candidate Profile to verify a match on your own, but the specific contact information for each candidate would be hidden until you actually purchase that Resume. 

The cost would definitely be based on supply and demand and the more you buy, the more you save (and you can buy single Resumes if you choose to).

The Pay-Per-Resume pricing could also be determined by a service level you select (i.e. signing up for the “Gold Qualified” level means that every candidate in your shopping cart is a match, but just like existing job boards, the company cannot guarantee that they will be interested in your position until you contact them; signing up for the “Platinum Verified” level is the same as above except that the company’s Search Specialists have contacted each candidate in your shopping cart and confirmed that they have an interest in your career opportunity). 

Why Resumes-On-Demand? Because it’s foolish to do the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. Newspaper Classifieds and Job Boards are one in the same - - they perpetuate the problem. There has to be a better way.

Why Resumes-On-Demand? Because you can’t afford to spend hundred$ or thousand$ of dollars just to spend countless hours trying to find the right candidate in an entire database where the output is only as good as the information inputted. Let someone else do the searching for you while you focus on the recruiting.

Why Resumes-On-Demand? Because you don’t hire someone without interviewing them first so why not begin the process the same way by previewing candidates before making an investment in time and money?

Why Resumes-On-Demand? Because Newspapers aren’t new, Hot Jobs isn’t so hot, and Monsters are scary!!!

Monday, August 20th, 2007 at 1:58pm by JRed

What are some of the things you like and/or dislike about the recruiting industry? What new innovation would you like to see? Is there a particular tool/service that you wish some organization would create or redefine?

This week I’ll be presenting the things that I would like to see. I will offer a new idea each day. These aren’t things that I’m necessarily working on or developing myself, but things that I would personally like to see someone create, develop and launch in the near future.  At the very least, I think the evolution of such things would be fun to watch.

Introducing the first in a series I like to call “Why Not?”

WHY NOT? A JOB BOARD I’D LIKE TO SEE

I realize that it seems as though a new job board pops up every day, but this might be something entirely fresh. The concept? Job Ads meets Personal Ads.

Basically, the Job Ad reads like a Personal Ad. The candidate, instead of posting a Resume, would post a candidate profile of sorts.

The greatest potential may lie in making these profiles actual video ads and it could become the answer to solving the problem that people have with introducing Video Resumes into the recruiting/hiring process.

I figure the candidate would describe their “ideal job/career/employer” (just like they’d describe their “ideal mate” on a Personals website) and the employer would also describe their “ideal employee/candidate” using the same approach.

The goal is to make it all fun and catchy in a tongue-and-cheek sort of way in order to appeal to Gen-Yers, the target audience. One potential name could be www.ilovemyjob.com for instance.

The timing of the concept seems just right with the growth and popularity of social networking sites, but it wasn’t until I recently stumbled upon a promotion from Dice called ”The Rant Banner”.  Additional information and a good summary of the promotional campaign can be found here.

Dice gave Modem the assignment to create a concept to increase awareness of their site among their newly redefined target audience. Modem’s solution was “The Rant Banner”, an interactive blog style banner which asked the question, “Does Your Tech Job Suck?” and encouraged users to vent their frustrations directly in the banner.

The casual, edgy attitude of the banner hit home with the target audience - - it was essentially a perfect fit.

The key is that Dice understood their target audience extremely well and they gave them a platform (a worldwide stage really) that fed their desire for self-expression even in 9-5 corporate America.

In a world where the future of America’s working class has popularized TV shows like MTV’s “Jackass” and immortalized comedians like Will Ferrell, I gotta think they would flock to a professional careers website masquerading as a tongue-and-cheek dating service.

Why wouldn’t a variation of the Dice campaign expanded slightly to become a stand-alone job board work?

Seems like a no-brainer to me.